The Suggestion: Orange in small doses.

Orange gets no respect. No one drives an Orange car (there are exceptions.) Red heads get picked on. And the Burnt Sienna Crayon always went unused in the box of Crayolas.

The key is moderation. If you’ll be covering a good chunk of your body in this color, stay away from true, Syracuse-style-orange, and stick with colors that are more copper or rust. If you want something as bright as a bag of carrots, limit its use by way of accessories, clothes you’ll layer over, or sub colors in patterns. Still not a believer? Examples follow. Just don’t wear these all at once or you’ll sprain an optic nerve.

One of the best V-necks out there. BR is perpetually on sale, but their Merino V-necks are honestly worth full price (just don’t tell them.) Wait for a code of course. 25% off is good. 30% off is usually worth jumping on. The collars on these don’t dip super deep like their silk/cotton/cashmeres. Slightly fitted. Could be tighter, but if you’ve got a little around the middle, then you’ll be happy. Perfect under a black moleskin, blue wool or cotton, or grey tweed blazer. 25% off code BRBOOST expires 1/31.

Still a splurge ($59 for a tie is pricey for most of us) but made in Italy and the silk knit is something that can work year round. Notice that even though it’s a minor piece, like a tie, the dominant color isn’t orange. Wear it with a medium to lighter grey suit. Extra points if it’s flannel.

Expensive, but the perfect blend of not too baggy and not too slim. Leaning more towards roomy, but if you’ve got bigger legs, then you’ll appreciate the extra room in the thighs. Straight legs. Great darker orange color. Ships free and plenty sturdy. Hang out for a 15% off (or even 20% off) code and you could end up real happy. (Want a much trimmer fit? Go with Rugby’s Vintage University Chino. The color is more of a true orange, but they cost just under $40.)

Hard to get more subtle than a bag that’s inside of a bigger bag most of the time. Tough to find in this color, but the Marc New York Canvas Dopp Kit is a combination of waxed canvas and leather trim. That’ll do.

They’re like Target’s Merona socks. Only a few bucks more expensive. Don’t pay full price. Wait for a sale. And even then, maybe wait until you need something to tip you over the $50 free shipping threshold for another item.

Deceptively good looking for the price. Hell, GQ even featured them in a slideshow (not sure if the photog/editors knew how cheap they are before they snapped the shots.) They’ve held up extremely well for me with one exception. The toes scratch up easily, but a bit of colored shoe creme will hide that damage. A steal for the price. Jeans. Awfully good with jeans. Ships free since U.O. gets it to you at $50. Full review here.

This is fairly off-topic, but I just don’t understand the appeal of knit ties (especially with square bottoms) like the one pictured above. Silk, wool, soft cotton, all wonderful looks and materials in my opinion.

Man this is a great post. Orange is like the red-headed step child of the color family. Litterally. But I’ve got the sweater and have been seriously looking at those boots since the last post about them. Any comments about them?

I love orange. Looks amazing under my chocolate brown cord blazer. I think you have to be the right coloring for it. I don’t think it would work with pale skin, but it looks great with my brown / olive complexion.

As for watches, the Orange Monster may be a classic, but I find it a bit ugly personally. Something about the case’s “knobbliness” just turns me off it. Instead, might I recommend any of the following, using your handy Dappered 50% off code…

I’m with you on this. I went to a Catholic high school in the late 1970s and many of the guys used to wear them with a plaid Western-style shirt to comply with the dress code, and I think that somehow turned me off them. But then, being somewhat older, I tend to dislike whatever is loved by the 20-something style bloggers (see also: selvedge denim, sport coats with patch pockets that are way too short, double monks, etc.)

They did for me, yes. I usually wear a 10.5, and I got them in a 10.5. Had a couple other guys in a different post ask for an update on how they’re holding up. Plan is to do that either late this week or next week.

I have two burnt orange cable knit sweaters that I don’t wear anymore, but only because they’re both worn out. They’ve gotten a lot of use, and have received a lot of compliments over the years. That being said, I’m not clamoring to replace them any time soon. It’s really a fall color to me and with spring coming up, I can hold off for a while.

The Banana Republic merino sweaters are not the best quality. I had a small hole in mine after 2 or 3 weeks. For the price it’s OK if it lasts but it’s not a great quality of wool either. Cheapest merino you can buy.

I agree with you on the selvedge denim, knit ties, and short jackets. Even though I’m a 20-something myself, I fail to see the appeal in any of those things. Besides, what’s so wrong with a normal tie anyway?

I really do NOT recommend the sweater. I bought three of them and they pill unbelievably quickly. I bought some Nordstrom brand merino wool v-necks on sale last year and I don’t remember them pilling at all during the season. The BR ones pilled within the first 3-4 wears.

Nice watches. Some years ago, I saw a post on a watch forum about a particular orange Orient watch (cex03008M0). Finally saw it come up on eBay and grabbed it. The watch is actually a little more orange than the picture in the link below shows: